Takato's Hatchling
by milesprower06
Summary: Alternate storyline to the start of Season 3. Takato receives his DigiEgg before it hatches, and gets an adventure in parenthood once it does...
1. This Sounds Familar

Takato's Hatchling

By milesprower06

Chapter 1 – This Sounds Familiar

SHINKUKU PLAYGROUND

SATURDAY – 2:30 PM

"But it's true, you gotta believe me. Guys, I'm not kidding – Digimon are real! I saw them; Digimon; real ones fighting right in front of me. Two of them were going after each other, it was incredible. It was raining, it-"

Takato's description of the dream he had last night was abruptly interrupted by Kazu's hand.

"And then your eyes opened and you were back in bed like nothing had ever happened." he said, with a hint of sarcasm.

"You saw them fighting on the bed!?" asked Kenta, Kazu's usual opponent when it came to the card game.

"No!" Takato began, then shoved Kazu's arm away.

"This was not a dream! I'm not making it up! Numb…my hands…they were numb from the rain. It was so cold."

Kazu began snickering.

"Hey…maybe, you made your own cold puddle."

"What?"

"That's some dream." interjected Kenta.

"More like a bedwetting nightmare!" Kazu said, breaking out in laughter. Takato's face turned several shades redder.

"I did not wet the bed!" he yelled.

"Maybe he froze his hands wiping his baby tears!"

"Hey!"

"Poor mister sleepyhead, made his own waterbed!" Kazu chanted.

The two of them jumped down from the hut and ran away laughing.

"I can't tell you guys anything!" Takato yelled after them, then sat against the wall, alone.

"It was real. I saw 'em. And her…who was that girl? What a Tamer. Wait a sec…"

Takato opened his tin of cards; on top of his collection lay his newly acquired Digivice.

"Her Digivice – it's the same. Mine is exactly the same. Wha-?"

The white and red-spotted egg on the screen flashed three times, and then vanished.

"Hey – where'd it go?" Takato asked, beginning to fiddle around with the buttons.

"It's a good thing I don't have any real pets; I can't even keep track of a digital one."

As he scrolled past screen after screen, a hologram was projected out of the screen – a circle, and a red arrow ran around the inside edges of it.

"Is that…a compass?"

The way the arrow was darting left and right, he guessed this particular compass didn't point north. The changes in direction became slower and fewer until finally, the arrow settled for pointing towards the west, towards downtown Shinjuku.

Takato made up his mind to follow the compass' given direction and see if it led to his egg.

"I'll show them; I'll show everybody – Digimon are real, and I'm gonna prove it!"

He put his tin of cards into his backpack, and ran string through the top of his Digivice, which he put around his neck. He jumped down from the hut and began his trek towards downtown.

--

Rika Nonaka leaned against a concrete wall, underneath a highway overpass, tapping her foot and nodding her head to her music. She looked as if she was the only one there; to her, the bustling crowds and afternoon rush hour were nothing. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a white beacon of light erupt into the sky.

"Something's coming."

--

WEST SHINJUKU

20 MINUTES LATER

Takato made his way through the moderate crowds on the sidewalk, relieved at the simplicity of his Digivice's compass. After all, he didn't want to walk in circles and be here all evening.

A white beam shot up from somewhere in the cityscape, which immediately caught Takato's attention. Whether anyone else noticed it, he wasn't sure, but he was confident his Digivice was guiding him toward it.

One of the interesting features of the compass was that it didn't just focus on a center point; it took his surroundings into accounts as well. He came to an alley that broke off to the right, and the compass directed him down that way. He came to a short drop between two buildings, where he shimmied down a pipe. A few turns later, it seemed that the only way to proceed was through a concrete crawlspace, which looked less than appealing.

"Ew, gross," Takato said to himself, but nonetheless began to crawl through.

"I don't even want to know what that smell is."

As he neared the exit, he hand met with a rat, which gave out a sharp squeak. It caught him completely by surprise, and he knocked his head on the very low ceiling of the crawlspace.

After the small pack of rats scattered out, Takato followed, coming out on a catwalk. He had arrived at an under-construction water treatment plant. He walked to the railing and looked down at the clearing, some equipment scattered about. The white beam was emanating from the center. He looked down at his Digivice. Four pulsing red arrows pointed in towards the center. He was here.

"This is it. He's all mine!"

Takato slowly made his way down the flight of steel stairs, never taking his eyes off the pillar of light, which rings of blue energy were now pulsing out of.

He reached the bottom of the stairs, and noticed that a black void had formed at the base of the beacon, which suddenly ceased, and fog exploded out of the void. Takato held on to the railing to prevent himself from getting knocked off his feet.

"What an entrance" he said to himself, then peered into the parting fog.

"Well, is it?" he asked, catching a silhouette of a round object where the fog had exploded outward.

The fog began to dissipate, and there, in the center of the clearing, was a rather large, white, red-spotted egg.

"That _is _it! Oh, wow!" Takato exclaimed.

Barely able to contain his excitement, Takato ran over to the center of the clearing, and knelt down next to the egg. Carefully placing his hands on both sides of it, he picked it up and examined it.

Yep, this was it – exactly how it looked when it was on his Digivice's screen, except less pixilated this time.

_'What am I supposed to do?'_ Takato wondered.

He remembered Ms. Asaji recently gave a lesson on eggs. She emphasized that first and foremost, the mother does everything she can to make sure the egg stays warm and relatively protected from the elements.

_'Might as well start there.'_ Takato thought to himself. He carefully set the egg back down on the ground, and then removed his hoody, leaving only his white T-shirt he wore underneath. He then scooped the egg up with one arm, and wrapped his hoody around it, insulating it as best he could.

"Now to get it home" Takato said, getting to his feet, his Digivice hanging from his neck and Digivice in his arms.

It wasn't all that difficult getting back to the bakery. His trek had already taken him halfway home, and no one noticed or cared what he had within his hoody. But still, the entire way home, he felt that every pair of eyes bore lasers into him, wondering what he had in his arms. He made it home and went through the side door.

"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" he greeted as he removed his shoes at the door.

"Hey kiddo. You're home awfully late." his dad remarked.

"Dinner's almost ready." his mom said.

"Great. I'll be right back down." Takato replied, running up the stairs to his room. He slid open the door, and walked in. He went to the center of the room, where the floor was the warmest from the heater, and set the wrapped up egg gently down.

"I'll be back soon" he said to his unborn partner, then left, closing the door behind him.

As he ate dinner, he couldn't get his mind off the egg sitting up in his room.

_'I wonder if it's really Guilmon in there.'_

How could it not be? The egg looked like it did on the Digivice's screen, which appeared right after it scanned his drawings and stats of his ideal partner. He ate rather quickly, wanting to get back upstairs to it.

"You're hungry tonight, Takato. What were you up to today?" his dad asked.

"Just played cards with Kazu and Kenta. We stopped playing when we started to lose our daylight. Just didn't really have much of a lunch today, anyway."

Not completely true, but his journey downtown this afternoon had given him an appetite. Finishing what was on his plate, he got up, thanked his mom for dinner, and ran up to his room.

"He seems to be in a hurry." Mei, his mom, said.

"He's just at that age where he always has something on his mind." Takahiro told her.

--

Takato slid open his bedroom door, laid eyes on his hoody, and immediately stopped in his tracks.

The egg was partially uncovered, and it was visibly vibrating.

Takato rushed over to the center of the room and knelt down in front of his egg. His anticipation growing, he slowly placed his hands on it to feel the vibrating.

When both his hands made contact with the egg, the shell began to crack. Takato took his hands off the egg and backed away slightly. The vibrating stopped, but the cracks began to expand, and split off into separate directions. Takato's heart raced.

_'It's…it's…'_

With the shell cracked all around, and top to bottom, the hoody flopped to the ground around it, and piece by piece, the egg hatched, and Takato looked at his very own Digimon for the first time…


	2. Takatomom

Takato's Hatchling

Takato's Hatchling

By milesprower06

Chapter 2 – 'Takatomom'

SHINKUKU PLAYGROUND

SATURDAY – 2:30 PM

Takato sat on his knees, on the floor of his room; at a loss for words and movement; all he could do was stare at the small red dino sitting in front of him, it's back to him; the remnants of the egg scattered around it.

The tip of it's tail thumped a slow, steady tempo into the floor, it's wing-like ears twitching at the noises they picked up, it's big, golden eyes perceiving the world for the first time, various pitched growls and groans emanating from it's throat.

Takato simply stared at the newborn Digimon with awe. He looked to be about a foot-and-a-half long; from the start of its snout to the tip of its tail. Ever so slowly, Takato reached out for him…

"Guilmon?" he said softly, not wanting to startle him.

The dino's ears perked up at the sound of Takato's voice. He turned his head towards the source of the sound, and blinked. Takato froze his hand where it was, inches from the room's other occupant.

Guilmon very slowly got to his feet, and, having never walked before, unsteadily stepped towards Takato's hand, sniffing cautiously, but nonetheless curious. Takato wasn't sure what to do, so he remained still, as the crimson raptor moved slowly closer.

Now centimeters from Takato's slightly outstretched hand, Guilmon sniffed it for several moments. Then, satisfied, he licked it. He nuzzled Takato's hand, encouraging the boy to pet him.

As Guilmon rubbed against his hand, a smile formed on Takato's face, and he began slowly stroking the baby Digimon.

"Hey there, Guilmon" he said.

Takato slowly placed his hands under the dino's arms, and very carefully picked his new Digimon up, and brought him closer, holding him up to eye level. They looked into each other's eyes.

"Hi. My name's Takato, and I think I created you."

He brought Guilmon to his chest and hugged him, albeit with care, and he snuggled into his shirt in return.

However he ended up getting him, one thing was for sure; he was just so cute. _Cool_ was usually his description of things, but that really didn't fit this time. Now, a thought finally hit Takato; how was he going to take care of this little guy?

Takato set Guilmon down on the floor, near the remnants of his egg. He went over to the closet, and began digging through the infinite piles of junk he had stored away. He came out moments later with an empty shoebox. He came back over to Guilmon, who now aimed his curiosity at the box. Takato removed the pieces of shell from his hoody, and set it inside the shoebox to use as lining. He then picked Guilmon up and set him inside the shoebox.

_'Alright, I have a nest squared away. Now what?'_

It took a few moments for the penny to drop. Food, of course. In all of Ms. Asaji's lessons about newborns, the mother immediately fed their young after hatching.

"Wait here. I'll be right back." Takato told Guilmon.

He left his room and went downstairs. His mom and dad were now tending to the evening customers. He snuck into the pantry and took several of the day-old bread rolls. He took them back up to his room. When Guilmon saw him, he tried to get out of the shoebox.

"Relax, boy. Here I am."

Guilmon calmed down only slightly until Takato was kneeling directly in front of his box. Takato picked his partner up and set him down on the floor. He started sniffing at the bread, but wasn't sure what to do with it.

"This is food. You eat it, see?" Takato said, taking a bite of one of the rolls. He chewed and swallowed.

"Okay, now you."

Takato tore a small piece of bread from the roll, and offered it to Guilmon, who sniffed at it for a few seconds, then took it in his mouth and chewed it. He swallowed, and a smile formed on his face. He took the entire roll with his claws and began devouring it.

"Like it, huh?" Takato said.

It didn't take long for Guilmon to eat the entire roll. When he was finished, the dino coughed dryly.

"Yeah, you probably want something to drink after all that bread. I'll be right back." Takato said, and then left his room once again. With the way Guilmon messily snarfed down that bread, Takato thought it might be best to give Guilmon a bottle of milk instead of a glass or bowl and have him spill it all over. He went to the storage room all the way in the back, and began rummaging through various cardboard boxes until he found one marked TAKATO'S BABY CLOTHES.

_'Probably in there.'_ he thought. He parents had owned this bakery as long as he could remember, and he never remembered having a garage sale of anything like that, so he was confident that if he dug through enough of this stuff, he'd come across one of his old baby bottles. He opened the four flaps on top, and began rummaging through the box.

"Ah, here we go." he said to himself, finding what he was looking for. He put the rest of the items back in the box as neatly as he could, and then went back to the kitchen. Both of his parents were out front tending to evening customers, so they weren't back here to wonder what he was doing. He gave it a quick washing with hot water, then filled it with milk from the fridge. He then put it in the microwave to warm it up.

Upon returning to his room, he slid open the door, and Guilmon, having been leaning against it, stumbled out, falling on Takato's foot.

"You know, boy? It's a good thing I close the door. Who knows where you'd get to?" Takato said to him. He imagined for a moment how the customers would freak if Guilmon had made his way out to the lobby. He picked Guilmon up with his free hand and entered his room, closing the door behind him.

"I've got something for you." he said, going over to his desk chair and sat down. Setting the bottle down, he shifted Guilmon in his arms, so that he was cradling his partner in his left arm. He then picked up the bottle, and put the tip on Guilmon's mouth. Either by instinct or curiosity, Guilmon took the rubber nipple into his mouth and began to suckle from it. From the way that he devoured the bread, Takato expected Guilmon to drink the milk as fast as he could. So he was surprised when Guilmon seemed to relax and just drink at his current, steady pace.

Takato again took notice of just how sweet his partner looked, so content in his arms. Guilmon was revealing another side of him – a side that didn't just judge things by how 'cool' they were. Now he had someone to care for other than himself, and he was happily looking forward to it. Before he knew it, the bottle was empty, and Guilmon burped an approval of the second course. Takato looked over at his clock on the desk, and realized it was getting late.

"I think it's time for bed, boy." Takato said, setting the empty bottle on the desk and got up. He went over to the shoebox and set Guilmon down in it. He then walked over to his closet and changed into his pajamas. Going to the door, he shut off the light, and climbed the ladder up into bed.

He had just gotten comfortable when he heard a whimpering from down below. Sitting up, he looked down from the side of his bed at Guilmon, who was looking up at him from the shoebox.

"Don't worry boy, I'm right up here." he said to him. Guilmon didn't seem satisfied, and Takato hadn't even lain back down before he started crying up at him again. Takato figured that he'd eventually settle down, but several moments later, he heard him rustle around the shoebox, and before he knew it, he heard scratching sounds at the foot of the ladder.

"Oh, Guilmon." Takato said, as he climbed down the ladder. His feet came to the floor, he knelt down, and picked Guilmon up, reached up, placed him on the bed, and climbed back up the ladder. That goofy smile returned to Guilmon's face as Takato climbed back into bed. He lay down on his back, his head hitting the pillow, and rolled over onto his side, pulling the sheets up to his midsection. Guilmon crawled over to the head of the bed, then went partially under the covers, lay down, and snuggled into Takato's chest, at last settling down. Takato smiled as he watched his partner fall asleep. He exhaled, closed his eyes, and welcomed the world of dreams…

--

Renamon stood on the railing of Takato's small balcony, little more than a shadow in the night. Her icy blue eyes gazed into the darkened room, up at the bed.

"Well?" her Tamer, Rika, asked from down below. She wore her brown leather jacket, as it was a bit chilly out tonight, and grasped her blue-ringed D-Arc in her right hand.

"I see him." Renamon responded, continuing to stare into the window.

"And?"

"Rika…he's just a baby."

"What? My Digivice detected a Rookie-level signal."

"Well, I don't believe he's wild. Seems quite attached to the boy."

"So what do we do? Wait and see?"

"Unless you want to risk breaking and entering for what's most likely a miniscule amount of data, that seems wise."

Rika _hmmphed_, stared at her Digivice for a moment longer, then switched the hologram off, and sighed.

"Fine. We'll let him be…for now."

--

A/N: To everyone who's gotten into my latest fic, I certainly hope you're enjoying it. This chapter's title is just a fine hat's off to Crazyeight's story, 'Less Than Human".

Have any ideas or antics that Takato and Guilmon could get into? I'm having trouble thinking things up, so feel free to drop me a line!


	3. To Tell or Not To Tell

Takato's Hatchling

Takato's Hatchling

By milesprower06

Chapter 3 – To Tell or Not To Tell

MATSUKI BAKERY / RESIDENCE

SUNDAY – 7:45 AM

Takato woke up to something wet and slimy lapping against his cheek. As he came to, he realized it was Guilmon, licking his face, encouraging him to greet the new day.

"Alright, alright boy, I'm up." Takato told his partner. So much for not setting his alarm clock; Guilmon seemed to fit its purpose just fine. He sat up, lifted the covers aside, and climbed down the ladder, bringing Guilmon down afterwards. Knowing that he was probably hungry, Takato decided to bring Guilmon another bread roll and bottle of milk. But his parents were probably already in the kitchen, preparing for when the bakery opened in about two hours.

_'But they don't have to know it's for him.'_ Takato thought to himself, getting an idea. He set Guilmon gently down in the box.

"Stay put this time, okay boy?" Takato asked his partner. He slid open his bedroom door, stepped out into the hall, and closed it, as he had almost no faith in Guilmon's ability to listen, or even understand him, for that matter. It would be best to hurry, though; if he took too long, Guilmon might not only scratch at the door, but also start whining like he did last night, and he didn't really want to explain Guilmon to his parents.

Takato went down the stairs into the kitchen, where his parents were indeed going about the front and back, preparing for the morning's inevitable business.

"Morning." he greeted, going to the fridge.

"You're up awfully early for a Sunday. Sleep well?" his dad asked.

"Yeah. Something just wouldn't let me get back to sleep." he said, not wanting to give them too big a hint for why he was down here this early. He opened the fridge, grabbed the jug of milk, poured a glass, returned the milk to the fridge, and on his way out, grabbed one of the fresh warm rolls.

Upon returning upstairs, Takato slowly slid open his bedroom door, expecting Guilmon to be right on the other side. He wasn't however, and to Takato's surprise, Guilmon was where he had left him, sitting in the shoebox waiting for him to return. The dino's excitement grew when he saw Takato come through the door.

Of course, Takato gave him the customary "good boy", as he walked over to his desk, twisted the cap off of his bottle, and poured in the milk from the glass. It was cold this time around, but he didn't believe Guilmon would mind. With the bottle and roll in hand, Takato knelt in front of Guilmon's shoebox, and offered him the fresh bread.

As much as he enjoyed last night's day-old bread, Guilmon dove into the fresh roll mouth first as if he hadn't eaten in weeks, and finished it in record time. Takato then picked his partner up, and fed him the bottle of milk.

_'I wonder where it all goes.'_ Takato wondered, as Guilmon hadn't answered nature's call after hatching. He didn't want to think about it too hard, lest he jinx it and suddenly have diapers to change.

_'Probably gets converted to data or something.'_ he concluded, gazing around his room, his eyes coming to rest on his backpack. School started up again tomorrow…

Takato's body tensed suddenly, and Guilmon took note of this, making a curious groan.

_'Oh no! School's tomorrow! But what'll I do with Guilmon?'_ Takato wondered, looking down at the dino he held in his arms.

_'He can't just stay cooped up in here all day…he needs food, and attention! What if he were to get out? What if -?'_

Takato's stomach dropped, and he felt a lump in his throat as the situation began to get the best of him.

_'Okay, get a hold of yourself, Takato. There has to be something you can do. Let's see…'_

He spent the next several minutes drawing a blank. His friends, Jeri, Kazu, and Kenta, were all in school with him. He went down the same roads of thought again and again, only to arrive at the only one realistic conclusion.

_'But…Mom and Dad…would…well, they would freak! But…'_

But there was no other option.

He had to tell them.

_'Best not do it right now.'_ Takato thought to himself. They had customers to attend to in about 30 minutes, and they certainly didn't need this on their minds right now. All the more time he had to figure out how to tell them.

This was going to be worse than the time he brought that cat home…

--

MATSUKI BAKERY / RESIDENCE

6:30 PM

Takahiro and Mei Matsuki were downstairs in the kitchen, finishing up the dishes. Business-wise, it had been quite a prosperous day, as they had discovered upon counting down the register. What wasn't sold went in the pantry for the night to be offered the next day as discounted day-old items. The two bakers heard their son come down the stairs into the kitchen.

"Hey, how was it today?" Takato asked.

"Pretty good. We almost had to come get you." Mei said.

"You've been spending a lot of time up there today. Is everything okay?" Takahiro asked. Takato looked uneasy.

"Well, um…I have something I need to show you guys."

"What is it?"

"It's…kinda hard to say."

"Takato, do you have anything up in your room we should know about?"

He now had the attention of both his parents.

"Uh…you remember when I…uh, brought that cat home?"

Mei immediately gave him one of those common mother looks.

"You brought _another_ animal home? What part of no –"

"Not exactly. Uh, come up and see."

Takahiro and Mei followed their son up to his room, wondering if they should know what to expect. Takato had always been an animal person. So what did he mean when he said, 'not exactly'?

"Alright – I hope I can make you understand what I'm about to show you – just don't freak, that part I can't stress enough." Takato told them. He took a breath, then slowly slid open his bedroom door.

Guilmon, upon hearing the door open, poked his head up out of the shoebox beside Takato's bed.

"What is…oh dear Lord!" Mei exclaimed.

"Mom! What do you think when I said 'don't freak'? I don't want you to startle him." Takato said, walking over to the shoebox and picked the crimson raptor up, then slowly came back to his shocked parents, ready to introduce them to his partner.

"He hasn't seen any other people other than me, so I didn't know how he'd react." Takato explained, standing in front of his dumbfounded mom and dad.

"Takato, what is that? A lizard?" Takahiro asked, his wife still too shocked for words.

"Well, his name's Guilmon. Uh, you see, he's a Digimon."

"You mean that TV show you always used to watch? They're…they're real?"

"I guess so. Here, I'll try my best to explain."

Takato carefully slipped Guilmon into his father's arms, and went over to his desk.

Guilmon noticed how calm and off-guard Takato was around these two new faces, so he immediately decided to treat them as friendly. Mei just stared at him in complete and utter disbelief.

Takato returned moments later with his drawings of Guilmon and his Digivice.

"Alright, here it goes. Friday morning before school, Kazu, Kenta, and me were playing cards. I accidentally spilled my cards, and as I was picking them up, I found this weird blue metal card that I definitely don't remember having. I slashed it through my card reader, and at first, I thought I had fried it. I went back to it after school, and it had transformed into this." he explained, holding up his Digivice.

"I guess it's a variation of the ones from the show. I got the idea in my head to scan drawings of a Digimon I thought up, and an egg appeared on the screen." he showed them his drawings that he did outside of class on Friday.

"Saturday afternoon, the egg vanished from the screen, and a compass function on this thing led me to a construction site downtown, where it appeared as soon as I got there."

"So _that's_ what you had under your hoody last night."

Takato nodded, and continued.

"It hatched after dinner last night, and I've been feeding him milk and bread. The reason I decided to show you is because I have school tomorrow, and he can't stay up here all day alone. I need someone to watch him. I know it's asking a lot. Mom, I know we're not allowed to have pets, but I believe I was meant to find him. It would mean _so_ much to me if you guys helped me take care of him."

There. He had stated his case. Now what would they think? His story was a bit out there, for sure, but with his drawings, the Digivice, the remnants of the egg he had gathered on his desk, and not to mention Guilmon right there in his dad's arms, he was hopeful that they would believe him. But getting them to believe him wasn't even half the battle…

"Takato, this is a lot to take in. Your mother and I should talk about this downstairs. Well let you know what we decide." his dad said, handing Guilmon back over to Takato, and left with Mei, sliding the door closed behind them.

--

Takato didn't know what to think. Aside from her initial reaction, the fact that his mom didn't say a word worried him. Now, they were downstairs, discussing his fate, or rather, the fate of his infant partner.

--

"A digital dinosaur? How is that even _possible?_ Mei asked her husband, finally able to break her silence.

"I'm not sure, and I don't think Takato is, either, but he explained it as best he could. He was always crazy about that Digimon stuff."

"You sound like you're actually considering letting him keep that thing!"

"Mei,_ he_ came to _us_. It shows that he trusts us. He came to us because he obviously had nowhere else to turn. Whatever Guilmon is, Takato wants our help in looking after him."

"I can't believe I'm hearing this! It's crazy! We don't even know what he is!"

"He seemed harmless enough. Try to look at it from Takato's point of view, Mei. He's worried about what'll happen to him if he just keeps him up in his room. If we involve the authorities, or anyone else for that matter, it'll most likely mean trouble. I'm not afraid of helping Takato take care of him – I'm afraid of what Takato might resort to if we don't."

Mei looked like she still needed convincing.

"Mei…do you trust him?" Takahiro asked, the question firm and direct.

Mai carefully thought the situation over for several moments, and then nodded.

"Yes, I trust him."

Takahiro nodded in return.

"Alright. So let's help him out."

--

Takato sat anxiously in his room, awaiting his parents' decision. He had set Guilmon back down in the shoebox, and was now sitting at his desk, staring at the drawings of Guilmon he had done late last week.

_'What was I thinking, putting my drawings into that slot? I mean, a real Digimon's cool and all, but why didn't I think of what would happen when I have to go to school?'_

His mom had certainly thought nothing of keeping her voice down downstairs, but now things had quieted down, which made him wonder. What…what would happen if they didn't help him? If they said no…?

His mind screeched to a halt when he heard his bedroom door slide open again. He immediately turned to face his parents, who were coming in. His heart pounded against his chest. His dad cleared his throat. This was it…

"Well…at least we know what to feed him when you're at school."

Takato leapt out of his chair, nearly knocking it over, and threw his arms around his mom and dad.

"Thank you! Thank you so much…" Takato said, overjoyed, nearly in tears.

"Just don't let it affect your schoolwork, alright?" his mom asked him.

Takato slowly took a step back, nodding. It must not have been easy for her to accept this, so he might as well try his best to set her mind at ease. He walked over to Guilmon's box, picked him up, walked back over to his mom, and offered his partner to her. She took him in her arms, and when he looked up at her with that curious, goofy look, she couldn't help but smile in return.

"You know, he's kind of cute."

"Thank you again. You don't know what this means to me."

Takato couldn't remember when he last felt so relieved.


	4. A New Friend

Takato's Hatchling

Takato's Hatchling

By milesprower06

Chapter 4 – A New Friend

SHINJUKU MIDDLE SCHOOL

MONDAY – 10:45 AM

"Takato, for the _last_ time, would you _please_ pay attention?"

Takato snapped into focus once again, startled only slightly, as this had been his third offense this morning.

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry, Ms. Asaji." Takato apologized, with some scattered snickering from the class. Even Jeri gave him a look; he wasn't known for letting his mind wander _this_ much during lessons.

"If I have to tell you again, you will stay after school and write an essay on the importance of paying attention."

Takato nodded, and put all of his energy into focusing on what Ms. Asaji was teaching today. After all, he couldn't help but worry about Guilmon back home. He wanted to get back to him, and didn't want to write an essay before doing so. In order to get back to his partner as soon as he could, he had to put him in the back of his mind for now, which certainly wasn't an easy task. He had managed to focus enough on Ms. Asaji's lessons for another hour before the lunch bell rang. Lunch, the best period of the entire school day, where one could just relax, eat, and think.

After standing in the line for ten minutes for what appeared to be some kind of meatloaf, peas, and mashed potatoes, Takato sat down at one of the tables, and was just about to begin eating when he noticed another boy walk past with a tray of his own. It wasn't the tray he took notice of, though. It was the green-trimmed Digivice clipped to one of the boy's belt loops.

He had short blue hair, brown full-length pants, and an orange cloth vest zipped over a matching t-shirt.

"Psst." Takato said to him, in an attempt to get his attention.

"Hmm?" the boy turned. Takato flashed his own Digivice he had kept in his pocket for the day. Now interested, the boy walked over to Takato's table and took a seat across from him.

"I don't think I've seen you before. You're a Digimon Tamer too?"

He still didn't fully understand what 'Digimon Tamer' meant, but figured that Guilmon had been giving him a crash course in 'taming' for the past two days.

"Yeah. I'm Takato. Nice to meet you."

"Henry Wong. Likewise." he replied, the two of them shaking hands across the table.

"So who's your Digimon?"

"Terriermon, currently home with my little sister, getting the 'Princess Prettypants' treatment." Henry said, suppressing a snicker.

"Your little sister knows about him?"

"Not exactly. Whenever anyone else is around, he acts like he's a doll. He's actually gotten quite good at it. So who's your Digimon?" he asked Takato.

"Guilmon."

"Guilmon…? Huh, never heard of him."

"No, I don't suppose you have. I made him up. You see, I drew some pictures, and wrote down some stats, scanned them through this slot here." he said, holding up his Digivice, pointing to the slot on the right end.

"You put some drawings and stats through the Modify Slot? Huh, who would've known what that could do? So how'd it happen?"

"An egg appeared on the screen, and Saturday afternoon, I tracked it to downtown, and it just appeared. I brought it home, and it hatched."

"So what does he look like?"

Takato leaned down, reached into his backpack, and took out his drawings, banded together. He took out the first one and put it on the table in front of Henry.

"Heh, he's kinda cute."

There was that word again, 'cute'.

"Even more so in person. Wanna come by and see him after school?"

"Sure. We'd just have to stop by my place first so I can pick up Terriermon. If I leave him with Suzie for too long, he'll never let me hear the end of it."

The two of them got to talking about what areas of the Digimon franchises they liked the most. Takato was mostly into the TV show and the card game, while Henry was more interested in the videogames. Before they knew it, the bell had rung, they took their trays over to the conveyor belt, agreed to meet out by the soccer field after school, and with that, they went back to their respective classes.

When Takato arrived back in class, Ms. Asaji called him over to her desk while everyone else found their seats, some taking longer than others.

"Yes, Ms. Asaji?"

"Takato, I made a brief phone call to your parents before heading out to lunch. I told your mother that you were having a little more trouble paying attention than usual, and asked if there was any particular reason for that."

Takato's blood froze, and Ms. Asaji continued.

"She said there was a reason, that you had a situation at home, and told me to tell you, 'he's fine'."

Ms. Asaji noticed the relief wash over her student.

"Well, I didn't have a clue as to what she was getting at, but I can certainly tell that you do. Now, I won't make you stay after, but do you think you can save me the headache and pay attention for the rest of class?"

Takato smiled and gave a short bow.

"Yes, Ms. Asaji. Thank you."

Takato found his seat, and got through the rest of the class without being told to pay attention. When the final bell rang, he quickly gathered up his things, and was one of the first out, despite being seated furthest from the door. When he got out to the soccer field, he had to stand and wait for Henry for about five minutes, thus he wondered why he rushed out in the first place. But soon enough, Takato picked his new friend out of the crowd of departing students. Takato waved to him, and he ran over to him.

"Sorry I took so long. I got held up. Ready to go?"

"Yeah. I can't wait to get home and see how he's doing."

With that, they started towards Henry's apartment. Takato realized that it wasn't exactly in the opposite direction of the bakery; it was more like the long route. They entered the lobby of the building, and it was a short elevator ride up to the seventh floor. Standing by the door to his apartment, Henry turned to Takato.

"I know you want to get home to Guilmon, so wait out here. I'll only be a minute." Henry said. Takato nodded, and Henry slid his key in the door, turned the knob, and went inside. Barely a minute later, he returned out to the hallway, with what looked like a cross between a dog and a rabbit in his arms. Takato instantly recognized him as Terriermon.

"Whew. Thank goodness for short attention spans." the Digimon muttered. It was then that he noticed Takato, and froze, realizing that he may have just blown his Tamer's cover.

"Relax, Terriermon. He already knows."

"Is he a Digimon Tamer too?"

Takato nodded.

"Yeah. Guilmon's at home with my parents."

"Your parents know about your Digimon? And they didn't freak?"

Henry scolded his Digimon for being so forward.

"Don't be rude." Henry told him, but Takato honestly didn't seem to mind.

"They did at first, but then I explained the situation, asked them for their help, and they agreed. This is his first day without me, so I want to get home to see him."

"So let's not keep you waiting any longer. Off we go." Henry said. They got back in the elevator, rode to the ground floor, and returned outside, where Terriermon had to resume his 'doll' guise. It made Takato think of what methods he might've had to resort to had he not told his parents. Guilmon couldn't really be passed off as a doll, as Terriermon could. It just now dawned on him just how lucky he was that his mom and dad had agreed to help him.

It was another fifteen-minute walk back to his bakery. There didn't seem to be much of a customer presence right now, but Takato took Henry around back to the side door, his usual entrance.

"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" Takato greeted when he got in the door. The two of them removed their shoes and placed them next to the doormat, and Takato went right to the kitchen, Henry behind him. Clouds of flour occupied the air above and around the center counter. His dad was over by the ovens in the front left corner.

And there, on the counter in the back left corner, out of customer view, was Guilmon in his shoebox. His ears were already perked up from hearing Takato come home, and upon laying eyes on him, he instantly got excited, and tried to get out of the box. His dad had to quickly take the tray out of the oven, and set it on top in order to get over to Guilmon before he stumbled out of the box and wander into customer view. He picked him up and brought him over to Takato.

"Thanks," Takato said, taking Guilmon into his arms.

"I hope he wasn't a whole lot of trouble."

"Not really. I just had to keep him occupied. By occupied, I mean fed. The little guy has really taken a liking to peanut butter."

"That explains what you've got on your nose." Takato said to Guilmon, taking his finger and wiped off a bit of peanut butter on his partner's snout, and Guilmon then licked it off. Takahiro then noticed Henry in the doorway.

"Who's this?"

"This is Henry. He's a friend from school, who's…also…uh…"

Terriermon gave a small wave.

"Ah. I see." Takahiro said.

Takato went back over to Henry.

"You're right. He is cute."

"Come on, let's go up to my room."

The two boys, with their Digimon in their arms, went up the stairs just outside of the kitchen, and Takato slid open the second door on the right, and entered the room. Takato set Guilmon down on the floor, and Terriermon hopped out of Henry's arms to join him. Henry pointed his Digivice at Guilmon and activated the Analyzer function.

"Hmm. He's a little small to be a Rookie. I mean, these data levels seem really low."

"Well, that's how he came out of the egg." Takato said, pointing to the shell pieces on the desk.

"And he didn't go through any Fresh or In-Training levels?"

"Nope. I mean, I only wrote down Rookie level stats."

Henry contemplated this.

"Hmm. Well, I guess the Digivice just took what you wrote down…and…just stuck in an egg, for lack of a better description."

Henry continued looking at the Analyzer. There was no name, no attacks…just the size and type.

"Virus-type? That's unusual. But then again, so was the manner in which he was created." he concluded, not giving it much thought. Guilmon began to sniff around the front of Takato's bed, looking for his box.

"Oh, I left his box downstairs. I'll go get it. Be right back." Takato said, and he left the room, while Guilmon began poking around a pile of junk under his bed. A few moments later, Takato returned with Guilmon's shoebox.

"Looks like he found something under there." Henry said, pointing to Guilmon, who had discovered a pair of yellow goggles, and was holding them with the black elastic strap in his mouth.

"Heh. I forgot I had those." Takato said. He bent down, took them from Guilmon, and strapped them around his head.

"What d'ya think?" he asked, Terriermon immediately suppressing a laugh. Henry glared at him.

"Ooooh" Guilmon said.

"I wonder how long it'll be before you start to talk, boy."

"I wouldn't rush it from my experience." Henry said, giving Terriermon a nudge with his foot.

"Oh, where would you be without me?" Terriermon said, climbing up to his shoulder.

"I often wonder." his Tamer replied with a hint of sarcasm.

"Well, we better get going. Gotta be home for dinner. Thanks for having me."

"No problem. Come by anytime."

Takato saw his new friend to the door downstairs, and no later than when he was gone, Takato turned, and saw a familiar face come in from the front.

"Uh, Jeri! Uh, what are you doing here?"


	5. That First Special Moment

Takato's Hatchling

By milesprower06

Chapter 5 – That First Special Moment

MATSUKI BAKERY / RESIDENCE

MONDAY – 4:45 PM

"Uh, Jeri! Uh, what are you doing here?"

"I saw you talking to Ms. Asaji after lunch. You seemed really distracted today, so I wanted to come over here to see what's wrong."

"Well, nothings _wrong_…uh, not really."

"What is it, then?"

Takato seemed hesitant, and Jeri noticed.

"What is it, Takato? You don't want anyone to know?"

"Well, my parents already know, but yeah, I'd rather word didn't get out. It's kinda outta the ordinary."

"Well, you can tell me! I can keep a secret, honest!"

To Takato, Jeri seemed rather anxious. Did she have any idea what was going on?

"You promise you won't tell anyone?"

"Not a soul - cross my heart."

Takato tried to fight back the slight blush in his cheeks.

"Well, alright. Come on upstairs."

With that, Takato turned and headed up to his room, with Jeri on his heels. When they got to his bedroom door, Takato slowly slid it open, and they stepped in.

"So what had you so distracted today?"

Guilmon popped his head up out of the shoebox, curious towards the unfamiliar voice. Jeri laid eyes on him, and Takato could tell in a matter of seconds, that, just by looking at her; that her heart had just melted.

"Takato, is that…a…a Digimon?"

"Yeah. How'd you guess?"

"That's all you, Kazu and Kenta ever talk about." Jeri said, walking over to Guilmon, who was anxious to meet yet another new face.

"Oh, he's the sweetest thing." Jeri cooed, picking Guilmon up.

Takato smiled, as Guilmon took in the attention Jeri was giving him.

"Alright, so how'd this happen?" Jeri asked, sitting down on the floor next to Guilmon's shoebox.

"Remember last Friday, when I was outside in the hall for being late?"

Jeri nodded.

"Ms. Asaji caught you drawing out there."

Takato unzipped his backpack and took out his drawings of Guilmon, rubber-banded together and put safely into one of the side pouches, and handed them to Jeri.

"So, how'd he get from this to this?" Jeri asked, nodding towards the drawings, then to the small raptor she held in her arms.

"Long story short; scanned them though this, an egg appeared, found it downtown on Saturday, and it hatched that night." Takato summarized, not really wanting to explain it in detail a third time.

"And your parents are letting you keep him?"

"Yeah. I asked them to help me look after him while I was at school. I'm really glad they did - if they didn't, I don't know what I would've done."

Jeri glanced over at the clock, and realized just how late she had decided to come over.

"Well Guilmon, I'd love to stay, but I've gotta be home in time for dinner."

"Yeah, don't we all. Alright, come by anytime."

"Yeah, don't worry Guilmon, I'll be back over here soon."

Jeri carefully set Guilmon back down in the box, and Takato saw his friend out. He stopped in the kitchen afterwards.

"I trust you won't be having any more visitors? Because dinner's ready in fifteen." Mei said.

"Nope, no one else tonight…I hope." Takato said, Jeri having been an unexpected 5-minute visit.

"Jeri's a nice girl, Takato. She always loves our creampuffs." Takahiro interjected.

"Hehe, yeah, I guess she's nice. Alright, I'll be back down in a few." Takato said, running back up to his room. His socks slid to an eventual halt in front of his door. He slid it open, and went over to Guilmon, whose excitement once again grew as his Tamer drew closer. He knelt down in front of his box.

"Ready for dinner, Guilmon?"

His partner gave him a goofy smile, and then, pressed his tongue against the his front teeth.

"Ta……kah……to…………"


	6. What's In A Name?

Takato's Hatchling

By milesprower06

Chapter 6 – What's In A Name?

MATSUKI BAKERY / RESIDENCE

MONDAY – 5:00 PM

"Ta…kah…to………"

The boy's heart skipped a beat, and he remained kneeling in front of his partner's box, stunned, once again at a loss of words. Now it was his turn for his heart to melt. Takato let out a whispered gasp as his partner reached up for him with open arms.

"Ta-kah-to…" Guilmon said again, reaching up for his Tamer, as if asking for him to pick him up. Takato picked his partner up, and his excitement grew as he turned toward the hall, and rushed downstairs to show his parents Guilmon's achievement.

"Mom! Dad!" Takato cried excitedly, halfway down the stairs. He leaped from the third step, sliding into the kitchen.

"What is it?" his mom asked.

"Go ahead, boy. Say it again." Takato encouraged his partner.

"Ta-ka-to…"

Takahiro and Mei found this as adorable as Takato had moments earlier.

"Well, what'dya know. His first word." Mei said.

"Takato, have you ever thought about taking him outside? Getting him some fresh air out of the house? Let him see the outside world?"

"Yeah, but where would I take him, and how would I get him there without anyone seeing?"

"What about the park? Not a whole lot of people go there."

"And he's pretty small, Takato. You could probably fit him comfortably inside a backpack or something." Mei added.

Takato contemplated this.

"Well, I suppose that could work, as long as he doesn't make too much noise. I don't have anything planned for tomorrow after school. I'll take him then."

As Takahiro and Mei finished preparing dinner, Takato went to the end of the counter and began making Guilmon's dinner. He simply took some of the leftover bread rolls from today, cut them into bite size pieces, and then spread a small amount of peanut butter on each one. The Matsuki household ate dinner without incident. Takato ate more slowly than his mom and dad, what with having to feed Guilmon as well.

Afterwards, Takato helped clear the table, then headed back up to his room with Guilmon. He set him down in the middle of the room on the floor, and then proceeded to join him.

"Alright - let's see if I can't teach you some more words, boy." he said, thinking for several moments.

"Can you say 'Guilmon'?"

"Takato!"

"No, 'Guilmon'."

"Takato!"

Takato thought for a moment. Then he pointed at himself.

"Takato…" he began, then slowly pointed at his partner."

"Guilmon."

The infant Digimon seemed attentive, so Takato once again pointed at himself, and waited.

"Takato." Guilmon replied.

Now, he pointed at the red dino sitting in front of him. He looked thoughtful for several moments, then worked it out with his tongue and jaw.

"Gee…uhl…mon…"

"Yeah! You've got it!" Takato congratulated him. He picked him up and brought him to the glass door of his small patio.

"Are ya ready to go out there tomorrow, boy?" Takato asked, as his partner stared out the window, at the world beyond. Takato watched the sun dip below the cityscape; the tallest buildings becoming ominous black towers against a glowing orange backdrop, as Shinjuku welcomed the night.

"Ready to see what else you can say, boy?"

WONG RESIDENCE

Henry sat at his computer desk, checking his e-mail, while Terriermon bounced around on the bed.

"Hey Henry. If Takato showed Guilmon to his parents, why didn't you ever think of that? It has to be easier than sneaking me around all the time, pretending I'm a doll."

"Maybe because my dad worked on a Digimon project when he was in college, and that he'd freak if he found out they were real." Henry said, with a hint of sarcasm.

"Come on, Henry - it might not be as bad as you think."

"True, but it might be, and then what? The next thing we know, the government's researching every inch of you, and I never see you again. It's just not worth the risk, Terriermon. Takato told his parents because he probably didn't have any other choice. We, however, have the luxury of passing you off as fake."

Terriermon crossed his arms in a little pout.

"Yeah, and Guilmon's probably over there having the time of his life right now…"

As if to punish Terriermon for his rude comment, fate had Suzie come into the bedroom.

"Terrwiermon!"

'_Ah, crap…'_

_--_

_A/N:_

_I'd like to thank all my readers for being patient - I became overwhelmed when I saw just how many alert notices I was getting for this story. So now, I have to let you fine people in on something. I'm not entirely sure if this fic is going to have any longevity to it. I believe I may have begun posting it a bit too soon. Also, with that being said, I'm making preparations to continue my **Loss and Gain / Life and Death** story arc, with a new entry titled Love and Hate. Since I'm not too sure where I'm going with this, I have to warn you all not to be surprised if the 'Complete' tab comes up out of nowhere for it. I'll do as much as I can with it. Thanks for reading, and check back soon!_

_-milesprower06_


	7. MidDay Snack

Takato's Hatchling

By milesprower06

Chapter 7 – Mid-Day Snack

MATSUKI BAKERY / RESIDENCE

TUESDAY - 6:30 AM

Takato was once again awoken by his infant partner nuzzling and liking his face.

"Takato…Takato!" Guilmon said gleefully, as he roused his Tamer.

"Alright, I'm up boy." Takato said.

The boy proceeded to get up and get himself dressed. His school supplies had already been gathered up, so he took the extra time he had to feed Guilmon a bottle of warm milk, saving his parents the trouble. He was still overly grateful for their decision to help look after him, _and_ they had a business to run as well. He wanted to lessen their responsibility however he could.

Afterwards, Takato set Guilmon in his box, and carried him downstairs. The crimson dino was beginning to learn that unless someone picked him up out of it, he was to stay in the box. This was undoubtedly a good thing, as it would make things easier on his mo and dad. He wondered how his mom would fare with him in the kitchen. Yesterday, his dad was in back, while his mom handled the register up front. They had a habit of switching everyday to keep things interesting.

"He's already had his breakfast." Takato told his mom, as he set his partner, in his box, down on , the back left counter, out of customer view, but where Mei had a good vantage point of him. He hugged his mom goodbye and grabbed a fresh bread roll for breakfast.

"Bye, hon."

"Bye, mom."

"Byeee, Takato!"

Takato smiled.

"Bye Guilmon. I'll see you after school, and we'll go to the park, okay boy?"

With that, Takato left the bakery, and began his trek to school. He was confident he would fare better today, not as distracted, since he saw how well yesterday went.

SHINJUKU MIDDLE SCHOOL

7:35 AM

"So what had _you_ so distracted yesterday, Chumley?" Kazu asked Takato upon entering class before the morning bell.

"What's it to ya? You didn't believe anything I said last time."

"Yeah, well you always have your head in the clouds, but yesterday was a bit much, even for you. Ms. Asaji's never had to tell you three times."

"I'm not gonna waste my breath - you wouldn't believe me."

"What - another 'real' Digimon? You should _get_ real dude. You're not fooling us."

"I don't have to; you're doing it just fine by yourselves."

The morning bell rang, and Ms. Asaji had everyone take their seats, ending Takato's and Kazu's argument before it could escalate any further.

MATSUKI BAKERY / RESIDENCE

10:30 AM

Mei had just finished mixing up a fresh portion of dough. Guilmon got a whiff of the particles of flour hanging in the air, and let out a sneeze, which slightly startled Mei. Once she made sure no customers took notice of the extra noise in the kitchen, she went over and checked on him. He was shaking his head, trying to get the tingle out of his nostrils.

"You'd best get used to it if you're gonna be in here often." Mei told him.

Mei took a few moments to just look at Guilmon. She recalled how she had told Takato on numerous occasions how they weren't allowed to have pets here, and that even so, he wasn't old enough to take care of one. Although the first reason was still deemed true, due to the building's foodservice purpose, she was beginning to see her error in her second reason. Takato was indeed proving himself capable. When he wasn't in school, he was spending every moment with Guilmon, making sure he had enough food and attention.

'If he had enough food, we'd be _out_ of food._' _Mei commented silently to herself. But still, there was something about this little guy. Why else would she have allowed Takato to break the 'no pets' rule, and even agreed to watch him while he was at school? She had to admit, it was adorable how he had said Takato's name last night. But she also couldn't help but wonder how big he was going to get.

Especially with how much he ate.

"Would you like a snack, Guilmon?" Mei asked.

The dino tilted his head quizzically. Mei turned away and headed for the adjacent counter. She returned a minute later with two halves of a bread roll, with peanut butter spread over them. Guilmon's eyes widened, as did his smile.

Thus, he learned the meaning of the word 'snack.'

--

A/N: Not too long, I know. Like I said before, I'm not too sure where I'm going with this, if anywhere, and I wanted to let you guys know I hadn't dropped off the radar. Also, I have two stories on the back burner that I'd really like to bring forward. One is my sequel to my Loss and Gain / Life and Death story arc, entitled **Love and Hate**. The second is a videogame crossover entitled Campaign Mode. Long-time visitors to my profile may recall that the first few chapters to this fic were posted and, shortly after, removed. I didn't know where it was going, and I'm getting the motivation up to revise it, with some heavy encouragement from a friend / beta-reader. Until next time, this is MP, saying "I'm still here!"


	8. Park It

Takato's Hatchling

By milesprower06

Chapter 8 – Park It

MATSUKI BAKERY / RESIDENCE

TUESDAY - 3:30 PM

Takato decided that it was probably a good idea to try and come in a little quieter than he did yesterday. He didn't want whoever was in the kitchen to drop what they were doing because Guilmon got excited. He was successful in his ploy, and wasn't noticed by Guilmon until he came into the kitchen.

Once Guilmon laid eyes on Takato, however, his calm demeanor was shattered. He was on his feet, at the edge of the box which was closest to his Tamer, and anxiously waited; ears standing on end, with that open-mouth smile on his face.

"Hey there, boy. How about you and me go get ready?" he said, picking up the box. Before going up to his room, he thanked his mom for looking after him, and she reminding him to be careful with him outside.

When he got up to his room, Takato set Guilmon and his box down on the floor, and proceeded to unpack his backpack as neatly as he could, setting his school supplies on his desk. When it was empty, he picked Guilmon up and set him beside the backpack, then taking the hoody and placing it inside. Guilmon came closer, curiously sniffing at the bag.

"Ready boy?" Takato asked. The dino gave his Tamer a brief glance before crawling into the backpack. Takato zipped it to where it was almost closed, and peeked inside to make sure he wasn't scared or anything. Guilmon simply stared back curiously. Confident that his partner wasn't afraid of being zipped inside, Takato, zipped it closed, and very carefully put it on his back. He felt Guilmon move around a bit to get comfortable.

Very carefully, he made his way downstairs. On his way out, he grabbed a can of soda from the fridge, and made his way out the side door. The park certainly wouldn't be empty, but he was confident he could find an area secluded enough where he could let Guilmon roam a bit.

--

On the adjacent side corner across from the bakery, the Digimon Queen stood, headphones around her neck. She had seen the boy arrive and subsequently leave. She grabbed her Digivice and saw that since it was tracking him as he moved, knew that the Digimon must be with him.

"Let's go Renamon."

--

SHINJUKU PLAYGROUND

Kazu slapped a System crash card down on his Modify Zone.

"Game Over, man."

Kenta dropped his hand of cards on his side of the field and fell onto his back, and groaned.

"That's the third time in a row" he whined.

"Well, who else am I gonna beat?"

"Why _hasn't_ Takato been coming around these past few days?" Kenta asked, as they both took notice of the absence of their usual third player.

"Ah, who knows." Kazu said dismissively as he gathered up his cards.

"What if he wasn't just making stuff up, ya know?"

"Don't tell me you believe that mumbo jumbo."

"Well, where else could he be? He's always here playing with us. Besides, how awesome would it be if Digimon really existed?"

"Awesome wouldn't even begin to describe it."

--

SHINJUKU PARK

When one walks into Shinjuku Park, the world seemed to get a little more peaceful. The trees and gardens seemed to block out the downtown bustle that surrounded this serene place.

Takato sipped at his soda, as he walked down the cement path. He found a set of stairs that led to a secluded stone hut up on a hill.

'_That'll do fine.'_ he thought. He carefully jogged up to the stone structure, opened the simple iron gate, and knelt down to remove his backpack. He unsung it from his shoulders, and laid it down on the concrete. As he began to unzip it from the center, Guilmon's snout poked out, sniffing the unfamiliar air. Takato unzipped the book bag entirely, and Guilmon stepped out onto the concrete floor.

All of a sudden, Guilmon stiffened up, his pupils contracted, and he began to snarl, staring out of the hut.

"What is it boy?" Takato asked, having never seen his partner like this before. He was then startled himself when a tall yellow and white vixen dropped down into the doorway from above.

"Wha-?" Takato said, shocked.

"So is the little pipsqueak ready to fight yet?" a voice off to the side spoke.

A tall girl with fiery red hair stepped into view from the right of the hut and stood next to the vixen. Takato felt trapped.

"No way, it's you…but how? I dreamt you…"

Rika raised an eyebrow.

"So people are dreaming about me now - is it time to fight yet, lover boy?"

"You're not serious, are you? He's just a baby."  
"He's at least a rookie, right?"

"Uh, I think so. But he just came out of an egg a few days ago. Even so, I'm not gonna make him fight." Takato said, getting a little defensive.

"What do you think Digimon were made for?"

Guilmon continued to growl at the increasingly unwelcome duo.

"Guilmon, stop it!" Takato snapped. Guilmon fell silent, and looked back at his Tamer, ears lowered.

"See? Even he wants to fight."

"Well, I don't care. He doesn't know any better. I do, and I'm not gonna force a baby living creature to fight something ten times his size." Takato said angrily to the girl. He glanced over to the towering vixen.

"She's so beautiful, and all you care about is fighting. Isn't she worth more than that to you?"

Rika didn't looked phased in the slightest.

"They're just data."

Takato almost looked disgusted.

"_How_ can you think that?"

Rika didn't bother answering. She turned to leave.

"Digimon are meant to fight, and when they win they get stronger, and when they get stronger, they Digivolve. But, if the coward doesn't want to fight with his dopey dinosaur, then I'll have to find a challenge. Let's go Renamon."

Renamon gave the duo a final look, then turned to Rika, and faded from view. After several moments, Takato fell back and sat against the stone wall. Guilmon, ears halfway down, approached his Tamer.

"Takato…?"

Takato picked up his Digimon and set him down on his lap.

"Sorry, boy. I didn't mean to yell at you." Takato apologized, stroking the dino's head, which is all it took get the Digimon's mood cheery again.

So that wasn't just some dream he had the other night. But what happened that made her viewpoint as such? That she only viewed them as a bunch of zeroes and ones? She seemed so…

Cold.

Takato tried his best to shake it off. He had come here to relax and let Guilmon explore a bit. He'd worry about that girl later.

"Alright, boy. Let's go see what we can find out there."

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A/N: Thank you EVERYONE for being patient with me! I wasn't too sure with where I was going with this, and for the most part, I still don't, but I figured the next step was for Takato to take Guilmon out to the park, and finally have a confrontation with Rika. Hopefully more will follow! Hope you enjoyed this latest update!


	9. Wild Abandon

Takato's Hatchling

By milesprower06

A/N - I'd like to offer my profound apologies to each an every reader for the simply ridiculous amount of time it took me to get this chapter up.

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Chapter 9 – Wild Abandon

SHINJUKU PARK

TUESDAY - 4:45 PM

"Guilmon, don't do that!" Takato said, trying to sound chastising, but unable to keep a chuckle in. That was the third squirrel he had scared into a tree. His partner just looked back at him, his tail wagging.

"You're crazy, boy. I don't think the squirrels want to play."

Then what could they do? Guilmon was a tenth his size, but no doubt had ten times the energy. They had spent the last ten minutes working their way around the shrubs and trees immediately around the stone hut, as Guilmon investigated every millimeter.

Once the immediate area around the stone hut was vacated of squirrels, Guilmon started to make his way under a bush, sniffing as far down under it as he could. Takato wondered what he was after.

Several moments later, he emerged with a pinecone in his mouth.

He sauntered over and dropped the pinecone in front of where his Tamer sat. He then stared up at him, tongue hanging out of his mouth and tail wagging.

"And just what do you want me to do with this?" Takato said, picking the pinecone up. Guilmon leaned forward slightly, tail wagging more, looking as if he was about to pounce. Takato knew what he was getting at. He tossed the pinecone several feet away back towards the bush, and Guilmon immediately went running after it. Halfway he tripped, falling to the grass, but it didn't even take him a second to get back up on his feet and go after it again.

They continued this game of game of fetch fro several throws, so Guilmon could expend some energy, and Takato could relax in the fresh air.

NEARBY…

SHINJUKU PARK

Rika Nonaka walked along the sidewalk, hands in her pockets, her pace steady.

The world around her darkened and blurred - yet she continued walking as if she didn't even notice.

"You seem distracted." a soft female voice said to her, that of her partner.

"How 'bout annoyed?" the girl muttered, then sighed frustratingly. "Another missed opportunity."

"You wanted to force him to fight?"

"That's what Digimon are for."

"Perhaps he doesn't think so. We've faced stronger, more worthwhile opposition anyway."

The girl sighed again. Then, something caught her attention, outside of the darkness, which began to give way to the afternoon sunlight in the park.

Fog began to materialize back near where she confronted the boy.

"Opportunity knocks again."

NEAR THE HUT

After the next throw, Guilmon's attention snapped to a rapidly expanding patch of fog emanating from somewhere behind the hut. Before Takato knew what was going on, the area was completely enveloped in fog. With his vision hindered, Takato slowly moved towards Guilmon, whose ears were on end, pupils contracted, a growl emanating from his throat.

"What is it, boy?" he asked, and then froze, as he saw a winged silhouette emerge from behind the stone hut. His D-Arc went started to beep. He cautiously grabbed it, without taking his eyes off of the figure in the fog.

As he held out his Digivice towards the silhouette, it projected a hologram much like the compass function days earlier. The features became more apparent on the shadowy creature, and the analyzer function took effect.

"Vilemon. Rookie level…virus type…"

Takato, all of a sudden, felt very afraid. He wasn't going to be able to talk his way out of this one.

The wild monster growled and hissed. His eyes began to glow, and Takato immediately jumped forward and tackled his partner - rolling away to the left an instant later.

A small smoldering crater was on the ground where they were a split-second earlier.

Holding Guilmon in one arm, Takato got up to one knee, and prepared to run.

Without warning, dozens of white diamond projectiles flew overhead from behind him, right into Vilemon, who then glowed red, and burst into hundreds of glowing fragments.

Takato looked behind him. There was Renamon, floating in midair, glowing; as she absorbed the red particles. Rika was at her side as the fog began to dissipate.

"Look, kid - you and your dopey dino better learn to put 'em up - otherwise you're not gonna last long."

As the last of the fog disappeared, Takato gave the girl a slight smile.

"Thanks."

"Well, savor it I don't give out advice very often."

"I meant for helping us." Takato replied, getting to his feet.

"Hmph. I did it for the data. You may not be so lucky next time. Let's go, Renamon."

As the girl turned and walked away and her partner vanished, relief washed over Takato. He returned to the stone hut and grabbed his backpack.

"Come on boy. Let's go home. We've had enough adventure for one day."


	10. Growing Up

Takato's Hatchling

By milesprower06

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Chapter 10 – Growing Up

MATSUKI BAKERY / RESIDENCE

WEDNESDAY - 6:45 AM

"Time to get up, Takato!" Mei yelled from downstairs.

This stirred Guilmon, but Takato remained sleeping. Guilmon climbed up on top of his Tamer and crawled up to his chest.

"Takato…time to get up…" Guilmon repeated, nuzzling his cheek. After several attempts, he got a response, and Takato groaned as he sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"I'm up, I'm up, boy."

Guilmon rolled off of his Tamer, and Takato climbed down the ladder. He rushed down to the kitchen to prep Guilmon's bottle and brought it back up to his room. It came as a surprise that Guilmon was content to hold it himself, laying back on the bed, watching his Tamer as he got ready for school.

Slinging his backpack around his shoulders, he picked up Guilmon's box and held it up to the side of his bed. Then, he noticed that Guilmon was a bit bigger in proportion to the bottle.

He was growing.

Guilmon, having finished the bottle, let it roll onto the bed, climbed over the side railing of the bed, and somersaulted into the box.

"Go school now?" he asked.

"Yep. Let's get you downstairs."

He walked downstairs with his partner, where he was set in his usual place. He said goodbye to his parents, and was on his way.

SHINJUKU MIDDLE SCHOOL

7:25 AM

Takato strolled into Ms. Asaji's classroom, and made his way over to his desk. Just as he was about to sit down, someone grabbed his shoulder and whipped him around.

"Well well, Chumley, this is your lucky day."

"Um…it is…?" Takato said, once again confused by Kazu's antics.

"Why yes it is. You know why? You have one of those rare opportunities to prove me wrong."

"Uh-huh…" he said, going along with it for now.

"Yep. We know you must be up to something. You haven't been at the park for days, so we're coming over today, so you can show us this real Digimon."

Takato smirked.

"I thought you'd never come around, Kazu."

"Oh I haven't come around. I'm just humoring you. We all know how far you go for a joke."

"Um, that's you, Kazu. And fine. Come on over, and I'll finally prove it."

"Alright everyone, take your seats." Ms. Asaji instructed as the morning bell rang.

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Rika kept her usual, steady pace down the sidewalk towards her school. For whatever reason, she couldn't get that boy and his partner off her mind. Digimon were meant to fight, and they seemed content just to…play. From what she saw at the park yesterday, that would no doubt be their undoing.

She didn't get it. Digimon were meant for fighting. It was their main instinct. She could reinforce that with the way his little dino growled at Renamon.

"Maybe it's different for him, Rika." Renamon spoke to her Tamer from the rift in between the visible dimensions. "His Digimon was _born_ into his care. But I still don't know why it said Rookie instead of Fresh or In-Training. Why are you taken so aback because he doesn't want to fight? He just sees him more as a friend than a fighter."

Rika was silent for several moments.

"Then what about you and me?"

Renamon recalled how she sought Rika out.

"You were strong. You wanted me to be yours, and that is all I will ever be."

"So he's the same?"

"No, but he is no doubt strong in a different way; his own way. We should leave him be. If you want to fight, there's certainly no shortage of opposition."

Rika continued her trek to school.

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Takato didn't have to wait long out by the soccer field for Kazu and Kenta to show up.

"Ready to prove us wrong, chumley?"

"More than ready. Come on, let's go."

Takato smiled as he walked in front of his two friends. While they remained skeptical, part of them must have believed. Or at least wanted to believe. They were the ones who offered to finally come see, after all.

They arrived at the bakery, and came in through the back entrance.

"Go on up to my room. I'll be up in a minute." Takato said after all of them had removed their shoes at the door. As they headed upstairs, Takato went to the kitchen to get his welcome home.

Upon seeing his Tamer enter the kitchen, Guilmon perked up, even more than usual, and awaited him at the edge of his box.

"I got a few more friends waiting to meet ya, boy. Let's not keep waiting, shall we?" Takato said, picking up the box, and began to walk up the stairs. Halfway up, an idea popped in his head. He leaned down to Guilmon.

"Alright, boy. Here's what I want you to do…"

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Kazu and Kenta waiting in Takato's room, Kenta sitting in the desk chair, and Kazu leaning against one of the bed posts. Neither really knew what to expect right now.

Before long, the bedroom door slid open, and Takato came in with a shoebox. As far as they could tell, there was nothing in it but one of his hoodies. They both came closer for a better inspection.

"Alright, Guilmon…say hi!"

It was not that the duo noticed that there was something _under_ the hoody. Their suspicions were realized as a red snout poked up out from underneath the hoody. A split-second later, two leathery claws joined it. Then, the creature leapt out of the box, taking the hoody with it, and latched onto Kazu's shirt.

Needless to say, Kazu freaked. He reeled back, and fell to the floor, cowering, as the red lizard creature lashed as his face with his tongue.

Takato was trying not to fall to the floor in laughter.

Kazu quickly realized that this thing wasn't going to devour him. Takato recovered from his bout of laughter.

"What was that for?"

"For doubting me."

Guilmon whipped his head back to throw the hoody back, revealing his golden eyes and goofy smile.

"Hi!"

"Whoa…this is the coolest!"

"We thought for sure you were kidding!"

"Well, I wasn't, and here's the proof." Takato pointed to Guilmon.

"What's his attack?" Kazu asked.

Takato shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, what's he Digivolve into?"

"I don't know. I never really thought of that."

While Guilmon got familiar with the new duo, Takato began to think more about the fact that Guilmon was growing, and what Rika said to him yesterday.

'_You better learn to put'em up, or you're not gonna last long…'_

As much as Takato didn't want to think about it, he realized Guilmon's infancy may be coming to an end.

'_So I have to take him out fighting now? Just what is Digimon 'taming'?'_

What was Guilmon to him, really? A pet? A child?

'_A partner…'_

…but a partner in what?

He wasn't ready to settle on 'fighting' just yet.

Kazu and Kenta spent an hour or so playing with Guilmon before they had to head home for dinner. Before leaving, Kazu at last, gave a sincere apology for doubting him.

"Don't worry about it." Takato laughed.

After seeing his friends out, Takato returned to his room, where Guilmon was nibbling on a shoelace.

Takato smirked at the little dino. He bent over to pick him up.

"You know boy, I don't know about the others, but I don't care what you Digivolve into, or what powers or attacks you'll get."

Guilmon smiled up at him. Takato smiled back.

"I love you just the way you are."


End file.
